


Hold My Hand

by Singenogen



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Art, Dialogue Light, F/M, I Tried, Promises, Romance, Sketches, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-16
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-09-02 00:22:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20266960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Singenogen/pseuds/Singenogen
Summary: Riku always thought Namine had the most beautiful hands.





	Hold My Hand

If Riku ever had any doubt whether or not Namine was Kairi’s nobody, it was squashed the moment he saw her drawing for the first time.

When they were children growing up on the Islands, Kairi was always doing something creative. When he and Sora would play pirates with wooden swords, Kairi would be watching them from a distance while working on some craft. Sometimes it would be making dolls or little bags to keep pretty seashells in. If he or Sora coincidentally tore their clothes while they were playing, she would offer to patch them so they wouldn’t get in trouble. When they were building the raft, it was Kairi who stitched the sail together. He had asked her where she learned to do it once, but she couldn’t remember. Her eyes looked distant that day. 

Namine was the same way, but where Kairi’s art was much more tangible, Namine’s was abstract. Her illustrations were so much more than just pieces of artwork. They could alter memories. No one but her could do something like that because unlike a bag or a doll you can’t touch memories, only admire and recall them. But Namine, ever the wonder, could somehow do the impossible.

The first time he saw her draw was not long after he had donned the Organization’s cloak. It was long before they were aware of any of the problems two of the Organization’s members would pose toward Sora’s reawakening. They had moved everyone into the old mansion in Twilight Town, and he had finished helping Namine set up the room where she would begin her work. 

Everything seemed calm, at least for the time being, but he couldn’t relax. Riku was not the type of person who liked to slack off, even when he was on the Islands. He always had to be doing something. Namine had her pencils and sketchbook out on the long white table. She must have sensed his discomfort.

“Riku? Are you okay?” Her sweet voice asked. 

“Yeah. I’m alright. Don’t worry about it.” He didn’t need her concern right now. There were bigger things at stake than his feelings.

“Well…if you say so.” She seemed unconvinced. “Would you like to watch me for a moment?”

He stilled. On the one hand, these were other people’s private memories, and he felt he shouldn’t watch her recreate them. On the other, he was incredibly curious as to what the whole process would entail. Well, they say curiosity killed the cat for a reason. He moved to stand behind her chair. 

She flashed him a quick, small smile and got to work. First, she selected the black pencil and began outlining what looked to be Wonderland. He watched as she sketched out what looked to be a trial. One that Sora was interrupting. As she filled in the colors, the reds, greens, and yellows of the odd world, he realized just how much Namine was like her other. Dedicated to the task at hand, completely absorbed in her work. By the time she finished the single drawing, the sides of her hands were covered in a thin layer of colorful dust. They were so much smaller than his own.

Over the course of the year they spent working together to restore their friend, Riku would often stop by to watch Namine work. He saw Sora’s journey unfold, and not for the first time, he felt great guilt in how he had acted. Sora wasn’t just a delivery boy. He’d worked hard, and sacrificed just as much as Riku had. The hardest memory he watched her draw was they day Riku stole Sora’s keyblade. She told him not to watch, but he felt he had to.

Every time Riku returned to the mansion, he had a gift for Namine. Sometimes it was a fresh box of crayons or a new sketchbook. DiZ told him not to get attached to her because Namine doesn’t truly exist. Riku didn’t believe that. He couldn’t. So he told him that they were just supplies to help further the process. The mysterious man who led the operation gave him a look that said he didn’t believe him, but nevertheless, he let it go. For a time, Riku was happy. If he was being honest with himself, those moments he shared with Namine, quiet as they were, helped keep him grounded. Sometimes, he wished they could go on forever like that. 

Of course, that couldn’t happen. Riku had to return Xion and Roxas to Sora. By force in the latter’s case. He watched Namine try to explain things to the boy in the simulated version of his world, and a twinge of jealousy sprouted each time he saw her with him. In the end, DiZ told him to dispose of Namine, but Riku couldn’t do it. They owed her too much, and even though he knew she was one half of his friend, he'd grown to care for her.

Time passed. Riku became a master, the war had come, and once again, he had lost his friends. Kairi was killed, or at least had been sent to another dimension far beyond their reach, and Sora, like the hero he was, had gone after her. He knew Sora would succeed, he always did, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something would go wrong. He decided that for just one day he and the others would celebrate their victory. 

Riku went around and picked up all those who had helped in some way. The old wielders, the nobodies made whole, Mickey and his friends, and finally, perhaps the one he was most excited to see, Namine.

She was just as he remembered her if a bit taller. When she placed her hand in his, he remembered those days when they were covered in pencil dust and things seemed simpler, even if in truth they would never be simple again. They were still so small compared to his, and he felt that if he didn’t treat her like the fine porcelain she was, she might shatter. 

In the end, Sora didn’t return with Kairi. Riku knew then he would have to go after him. But he was worried. Not necessarily for himself, but for Namine. Everyone else had a home to return to but her. Back when they were working together, Namine would stay at the mansion and he would be comforted knowing she was at least somewhat safe. Now? Now she had nowhere to go back to. 

“Where do you want to go?” He asked her.

“I…I don’t know” She looked down, and Riku had to stop himself from reaching for her. “Maybe I could go back to Radiant Garden. DiZ, I mean, Ansem the Wise, might allow me to stay with him.”

He tensed remembering the order the man had given him over a year ago. “Are you sure? Maybe you could stay with Kairi, or Xion, or even Aqua and her friends?”

“I’ll be alright. He’s different now, Riku. DiZ is long gone. Ansem has changed.” 

“I just…I’m worried.” 

“I know. You’re always worried about everyone, Riku. You’re sweet like that.” He felt his face flush at her words and hoped she wouldn’t notice

“If you’re sure, then that’s where I’ll take you. I have to go look for Sora. We all are. Promise me you’ll stay safe?”

She chuckled, and before he knew what happened she stood on her tiptoes and pecked him on the cheek.

“I promise.”

Slowly, he touched his face where her lips had been moments before. It was still warm. Or maybe that was just the blood rushing to his cheeks.

“You really are a wonder, Namine.” He took her hand and led her to the gummi ship. Whatever happened, he would do his best to bring himself and Sora home. He would do it for her.


End file.
